The White Oak was still moving forward in the mist. The surging power output by the steam core drove its huge and efficient propulsion system, allowing it to quickly pass through the fog-covered sea.
The sky had grown a little darker at some point, and the cold wind on the sea made people even more uncomfortable. Lawrence tightened his coat, feeling that he had spent enough time on the deck in the wind today, so he turned around and went back to the bridge.
A young priest in a black robe with blue stripes and silver edges was praying beside the machine and shaking the incense burner slightly, causing the smoke to linger over several control consoles. After seeing the captain, he stopped and nodded politely to Lawrence.
He was the chaplain on this voyage, Jason. Lawrence was not familiar with this young priest. In fact, most captains who undertook the mission of transporting "abnormal objects" often had to face unfamiliar clergymen. The priests on their ships were directly assigned by the city-state church and were frequently replaced. A chaplain would usually only complete two or three voyages with the ship, and this replacement system was of course also for safety reasons.
After all, ships carrying dangerous goods will inevitably be affected by supernatural forces, and as the "supernatural barrier" of the entire ship, the ship's chaplain will bear almost all the pressure brought about by supernatural interference, including pollution caused by items on board, as well as the mental stress incurred by crew members during the voyage - even the real impact of every crew member's dreams at night will be reflected in the chaplain's daily prayers and rituals.
Ship chaplains are also mortals. If they are under pressure from specific supernatural influences for a long time, they will inevitably be assimilated and influenced. After several ocean voyages, they will lose their keen sense of supernatural pollution and may even become a rift for subspace invasion. Therefore, under normal circumstances, ship chaplains must return to shore after a period of time and undergo a period of purification and spiritual reshaping in a specific church. Afterwards, most of them can recover and are arranged to continue serving as ship chaplains on other ships. Some who are left with mental problems can only stay away from the sea and continue to serve the church as priests on land for the rest of their lives.
So in a sense, these respectable priests...are also consumables in the voyage.
But then again...who isn't a consumable on the sea?
"Mr. Johnson, how is the machine?" Lawrence nodded to the young pastor in front of him and asked with concern.
"It's running well, Captain," the young priest said in a calm voice. "I just went to the engine room below, and the entire power system and steam pipes are in good working order."
Lawrence nodded with satisfaction, chatted casually with the young pastor for a few more words, then walked to the wide window in front of the bridge and looked at the scene outside.
The deck was gray and the sky outside was a little dark. The sky was covered with chaotic and blurry clouds. Diffuse light floated between the clouds and fell weakly onto the sea. The weather was not very good, but it was not far from the Frost, so it should not be trapped by bad situations such as storms before arriving at the city-state.
Lawrence suddenly frowned and looked at the crew member sitting in front of a console not far away: "Frost still hasn't responded to our signal?"
"No," the crew member in charge of monitoring the telegraph system shook his head. He had headphones on his head and a pencil in one hand. An orange light was on on a small machine in front of him. "We didn't receive any feedback from the signal either - but judging from our location, we are already at a distance where we can directly contact Frost Harbor."
"...something's not right," the old captain finally felt a little uneasy. He looked up into the distance again, his expression gradually becoming serious. "At this time and in this position, we should be able to see the Frost Coastline..."
He suddenly turned his head and looked at his first mate: "Have you confirmed the route?"
"Just confirmed, our location is correct."
Lawrence frowned, and after a moment, he suddenly took a breath and said, "I'll go and confirm it myself and prepare the observatory."
Hearing the captain's words, the first mate hesitated for a moment, but before he could speak, the young chaplain Johnson came over and said to Lawrence, "Captain, you are no longer suitable to enter the observatory at your age..."
Lawrence turned his head and looked at the young pastor, but said nothing.
He knew what the other party meant - entering the observatory would require enduring a certain level of pollution, and the light and shadows from the depths and the spiritual world would put pressure on the human mind. As an old captain who had been drifting in the boundless sea for most of his life, his mind was no longer as normal and complete as when he was young, and he was likely to lose himself in the process of observing the stars.
But in many cases, only older captains have enough experience to see clues of the ship's deviation from subtle changes in starlight - this is something that those mentally strong young navigators cannot do.
"I'll finish it as soon as possible," Lawrence finally spoke after staring at each other for a few seconds, his expression very serious, "I suspect the ship has deviated, but there is a misalignment in the observatory, and I have experience in calibration."
Confirming Lawrence's firm attitude, the chaplain could only sigh and step aside: "...You are the captain, and the captain is the law of the ship - I will prepare protection for you."
Lawrence nodded and looked back at the bow of the ship.
In the direction where the frosty coastline was expected to be seen, there was still only the vast and endless sea and boundless mist.
He withdrew his gaze and walked towards the passage leading to the observatory.
Leaving the bridge, walking through a corridor and stepping onto a staircase extending to the lower deck of the White Oak, after passing through several connecting compartments and several doors, you will reach the observatory.
At the bottom of the cabin.
Lawrence stood in front of the door, and the ship's priest Johnson began to get busy. The young priest added special spices and holy oils to the incense burner, chanting obscure scriptures while shaking the chains in his hands, allowing the scent of incense to gradually diffuse around Lawrence. Then he took out a ritual knife with many storm runes painted on it, and used it to cut the air in front of Lawrence to symbolize that the protection of the storm goddess Gemona had come here.
The navigator of the White Oak had heard the news and rushed over. He was a young man with a slightly pale face and seemed a little uneasy. After seeing that the captain was going to the observatory in person to confirm the route, he was so nervous that he almost pulled off the buttons on his clothes.
“Relax,” Lawrence noticed the navigator’s reaction and smiled as he comforted the young man. “It’s not necessarily your fault. The spirit world and the abyss are full of unpredictable changes, and spirit lenses are not always reliable. It’s normal for the stars to deviate. You’re inexperienced, so this is normal.”
"I...I have confirmed repeatedly that our route is fine," the young navigator said subconsciously, "but..."
Lawrence waved his hand: "I'll figure out what's going on."
"Captain, the blessing has been completed," the voice of the ship's chaplain sounded at this moment, "You can enter the observatory room - but remember, don't stay too long, don't stare too long. If you haven't come out in fifteen minutes, I will go in to find you."
"Ten minutes will be enough." Lawrence straightened his clothes and said calmly.
Then he breathed a sigh of relief, walked over to the metal door with storm runes painted on it and inlaid with holy silver threads, and pushed it open.
A dimly lit cabin came into view.
Lawrence closed the metal door behind him and roughly confirmed the situation in the observatory.
There are no windows in this room, and the metal door is the only way in and out. There are no unnecessary facilities in the entire room. The only furnishing is a cylindrical device with a diameter of about one meter placed in the center of the room.
It looks like an altar, but its cylindrical base is surrounded by a large number of cranks, connecting rods and mirror devices. Next to it is a small table for people to stand, which is the place reserved for the navigator. On the top of the cylindrical device is a transparent part that is concave inward.
It was a crystal lens, held up by a very complicated set of connecting rods. The crystal lens was bowl-shaped, and it looked empty inside - but when the line of sight was focused on it, it seemed as if ripples could be seen in the lens.
The waves seemed to be filled with sea water.
Lawrence stepped onto the small platform next to the cylindrical device and looked at the lens in front of him.
A ship is sailing on the vast ocean. There are almost no reference landmarks on the sea, and the city-states are isolated islands. Once the ship misses the destination, the navigator will be lost in the boundless ocean - so navigation becomes a very important science.
Anomaly 001-The sun is a very useful sky landmark. Using the sun to confirm the ship's position is certainly one of the navigation techniques. However, the sun is not always visible in the sky, and sometimes the sun alone cannot provide sufficiently accurate navigation positioning. When encountering such a situation, how can you accurately judge whether you are sailing on the correct route?
The answer, of course, is to look at the stars.
Stargazing is an essential skill for modern ocean voyages.
Lawrence lowered his head and slowly lowered his body, immersing his entire face in the concave structure of the large crystal lens.
The stars are deep, deep down—and to see them requires not only sophisticated equipment but also a sound mind.